I’m an advisor, speaker and author writing about the intersection of money and life. I’m not spouting untested philosophy—I work with clients and advisors as a Wealth Advisor and the Director of Personal Finance for Buckingham and the BAM Alliance, a community of investors and advisors who've discovered a better way to take control of financial futures and achieve life's most important goals. I’m thankful to have had my guidance vetted by one of the world’s best publishers through my book co-authored with Jim Stovall, "The Ultimate Financial Plan" (John Wiley & Sons). Most importantly, I’m living this stuff out in my foremost roles in life as a husband and father. A student of communication, I enjoy the practice in television (CNBC, ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox) radio (NPR) and print (featured in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Kiplinger’s and Money magazines, among others).

The Twitter Guide For Professionals Who 'Just Don't Get It'

“I just don’t get Twitter!” my boss grumbled to me yesterday. “Why would I waste my time?” This was precisely my opinion of Twitter when I was first introduced. I saw it as something that would sap my productivity, but if you are a busy professional who has only now given Twitter a second glance because its IPO is making headlines, consider using this productivity enhancing unofficial guide to the micro-blogging phenomenon:

I tried Twitter for the first time about five years ago, prodded by a well-intended arm twister encouraging me, “You’ve gotta be on Twitter!” The first time, I gave up on it in spirit after about two days. I was lost. The Twitter canvas was too broad for me to understand and appeared to lack any depth or genuine import. I struggled to know why I should care what anyone is doing multiple times throughout the day. I cancelled my first account after only weeks.

But as the medium started to become more ubiquitous, most of those whom I respected as communicators in more traditional veins began to embrace Twitter. I started to explore the concept more and read how others I respected were using it effectively. The second time I approached Twitter, then, I came willingly, not out of compulsion. Now, it is a valued resource that I rely upon.

First Things First: What is Twitter?

It’s a communication medium in which messages are sent and read—the catch is that these messages are limited to no more than 140 characters. They’re not captured, like an email, but instead they scroll as they are submitted. Like me, you might wonder what of much value can be said in little more than a short sentence, but among those 140 characters, you’ll often find a link to an external URL—a web address that takes you to a particular article or blog post. Now, when each of my favorite reporters at institutions like the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Money, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance or the New York Times, or online outlets like Forbes.com or CNBC.com, writes an article they send a Twitter notification to all of their followers.

What if you don’t have anything that you care to communicate? The revelation I had about Twitter was that although it can be a very effective tool for sending a message, it’s an even better mechanism for scanning and receiving information—quality information, not just where B celebrities are having lunch. So, even if you don’t care to say anything on Twitter, you’re welcome to open an account and just start following the people whose writing and preferences interest you. And, if they start sharing too much information for your taste, you simply stop following them.

Twitter Terminology

If I’ve tempted you to consider Twitter, let me bring you up to speed on the vital Twitter terminology you’ll want to understand to make yours a beneficial experience:

Handle: A handle is the actual string of letters and numbers preceded by an @ sign with which you’re identified on Twitter. You can keep it simple, like me, and use some variant of your name—@TimMaurer—or you might use something more creative and clever, like my buddy Carl Richards, @BehaviorGap. Twitter sign-up is free and can be done at www.twitter.com.

Tweets: Tweets are the 140 character messages you create and read. (I guess that makes those of us utilizing the medium either a Tweeter or a Twit!)

Retweets (RT): When you read something you like or support (or disagree with), you can retweet the original message, as-is or with your comments.

Direct Messages (DM): Direct Messages are private messages sent to someone you follow, but they will only go through if they also follow you.

Followers: Whether you’re on FacebookFacebook or not, you’re no doubt familiar with their terminology by now. On Facebook, you collect “friends.” On Twitter, they’re called “followers.” When you search a particular person or information outlet, you are given the option to follow them; if you do so, you become their follower. If you’re broadcasting information, those you attract will be your followers. Unlike Facebook, however, you don’t need permission to follow someone; but they’re under no compulsion to follow you back unless they choose to do so. Initially, I was taught to just start following people for the purpose of attracting followers—and indeed, you’ll see a lot of people out there who have thousands of followers, but who follow almost exactly the same number. I don’t have the time or desire to follow thousands of people, sorting the wheat from the chaff, so I follow only those whom I want to follow. I view Twitter not as a popularity contest (a conviction more likely to fall on Facebook), but as a resource.

Stream: Your stream is the running commentary of those you follow viewed on your computer or mobile device in chronological order.

Lists: Lists are the way to make Twitter work for you. Undoubtedly, you have various interests in life—vocational, financial, recreational, spiritual and beyond—and the creation of lists will help you hone what it is you want to read. For example, create your own newspaper list; a list with reporters from all of your favorite traditional and online news outlets. Each morning, wake up and see what they’re reporting. For example, I enjoy the Wall Street Journal reporter, Jason Zweig’s, market commentary, so I’m following @jasonzweigwsj. I can hear about New York Times writer, Ron Lieber’s, new book project on kids and money via @ronlieber and Jean Chatzky’s latest personal financial wisdom by following @JeanChatzky. But be careful—if you follow an entire media outlet, you’re going to get ALL the news they’re sending and that may clutter your Twitter stream. Some of the lists I’ve created are “Best of,” “Personal (and other) Finance,” “Writing & Publishing,” “News,” “Music & Art” and “Life & Faith.” Your lists can be public or private (I keep a private list of “Friends”), and you can subscribe to the lists of those you follow and respect.

Twitter Terminology: There is a lot of Twitter code out there, most of which I probably don’t know or understand, but the most common and powerful is no doubt the hash tag—#. Hash tags can be created by anyone and they are ways for people to track particular discussion threads or trends. The best example I can give you is that when I attended a recent financial blogging conference, many of the attendees were using a common hash tag tweeting out great quotes from various sessions. The hash tag was a way for all of the attendees to track the conference, even if we weren’t following each other. This works for everything from #financialplanning to #mozart to #bacon.

Late Adopters

I’m not an early adopter. I didn’t use email or buy a cell phone until 1999. I scoffed at the notion of reading a book on anything other than paper pages until 2009. Even now I feel guilty reading fiction.

Facebook? Meh. But Twitter? Twitter was a steep learning curve for me, but it has become my number one resource for quality information intake.

Twitter may not be something in which you’ve been able to find value, so I’m not twisting your arm, telling you you’ve got to get involved with Twitter. You don’t. But I do think it could bring value to your pursuit of topics relating to money, work and life.

If you enjoyed this post, please let me know on Twitter @TimMaurer, and if you’d like to receive my weekly Forbes installment via email, click HERE.

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